Isabel Healthcare Blog

A research article in Journal of Anesthesia & Pain Medicine was published recently, detailing a review on patients referred with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. The review found that the diagnostic criterion for fibromyalgia was not met in 97.3% of the patients referred, indicating that the condition is often over diagnosed. It was also found the referring physicians failed to diagnose 133 (94.3%) medical conditions in these patients which can be determined as an error of omission. The authors commented that ‘fibromyalgia may have become the “disease de jour” for the medical community and the absence of strict adherence to the diagnostic criteria for diagnosing fibromyalgia has led to many missed diagnoses.”

According to a number of recent studies, the question of whether or not you have asthma is debatable. Recent Canadian research carried out by The Ottawa Hospital suggests that as many as 33% of asthma cases have been misdiagnosed. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, examined 613 adults who had been diagnosed with the condition, and of these, 203 were deemed not to be suffering from asthma. The fact that 80% of these patients were taking regular medication for a condition they didn’t have, many of them on a daily basis, shows how important it is to get an updated and thorough diagnosis. A massive 90% of the patients misdiagnosed in this survey have now stopped taking any medication for the condition.

July is Sarcoma Awareness Month globally, and this week the UK are celebrating National Sarcoma Awareness Week as well. We’ve written blogposts on many different cancers over the years, including an overview of the types of cancer, but we have never gone in depth on this rare form of the disease. Sarcomas are often coined the “forgotten cancer” because they are both rare and under-diagnosed. Sarcoma awareness month is all about educating doctors and patients alike on the symptoms and diagnosis of sarcoma, in the hope that more cases will get spotted sooner, because, as is the case with most cancers, treatment is vastly more successful the earlier it is diagnosed.

Ever since the Isabel tool was first created for pediatrics in 2000, we have strived to make our systems easy and intuitive to use and access. Isabel has always been available online, meaning it can be found on any computer with an internet connection. As technology has developed rapidly in the field of computers and Artificial Intelligence, so have we, from integrating powerful natural language processors, to improving the interface of our tool last year. The next step for us was to create a truly mobile and smart device friendly DDx Generator, and that is exactly what we have done.

Changes in the climate worldwide have already started to show signs of longer, hotter summers to many of the countries on the Earth, and this will continue to happen in the future. It is thought that by the end of this century, extremely high temperatures that currently occur once every twenty years today, could occur as often as every two to four years. With heat waves currently being experienced in many parts of the world, there will be more contact from patient’s experiencing symptoms related to heat extreme illnesses. An extreme heat event is defined as several days of unusually hot weather conditions that potentially can harm human health, so reading up on heat-related illnesses, and the ways to prevent them, is crucial over the next few days and weeks.

For the animal owners amongst you, ticks are an all too familiar problem at this time of year. Found in woodland and areas with overgrown vegetation, they start off as small spider-like insects, virtually invisible to the human eye. Ticks can’t fly or jump but they can climb onto your clothes or skin if you brush against them. Once latched onto flesh, be it animal or human, their bodies quickly balloon with the blood they’ve sucked in before eventually dropping off some days later as an engorged, grey ball. But as ticks are very small with a painless bite, you may not even realize you have one attached to your skin. Hard to believe then that such a tiny creature can be the carrier of a potentially devastating disease. While some ticks are completely benign, increasing numbers, especially in parts of Europe and the US, are infected with the Borrelia bacteria which goes on to cause Lyme Disease.

As usual, we’re kicking off June with a post about a disease or condition being observed this month. In the spotlight this time around is “Scoliosis Awareness Month,” and people around the world are raising awareness for this spinal deformity, and raising money for the charities supporting people affected by scoliosis. The spine and skeleton is often overlooked when it comes to our health, especially when younger. The general opinion is that the skeleton will do as we want it to and, other than bone diseases, is nothing to be aware of when assessing our personal health. However, if we don’t look after our bones and in particular our spine and posture, it can have much bigger implications on our muscles, tendons and general wellbeing. Knowing how your spine works, connects to your body, and helps keep you active and healthy, is key to your overall health. We’ve put together 10 facts about the spine and spinal deformities that you may not know, as well as a short overview of the symptoms, causes and treatments for scoliosis.

Keeping on top of your own health and remaining well can be difficult enough, but factoring in the health of children under your care can be extremely taxing and worrying. As parents, guardians, or even just babysitters, we feel the enormous responsibility to protect the little ones in our lives every day, and knowing the right symptoms to watch out for could help keep a child healthy, or in some cases even save their life. You may or may not know that the Isabel tools actually started out as a pediatric tool for doctors, to help stop tragic misdiagnoses like Isabel Maude’s from happening again. You can see the video on Isabel’s story here, but it is clear that Isabel Healthcare, which now has a professional tool for all ages, and a patient tool based off the same system, is rooted in pediatric health, and we understand the anxieties you may feel regarding a child’s health and wellbeing.

The month of May is not only Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, but also the month where the societies around the globe raise awareness for Huntington Disease. For Huntington Disease Awareness Month 2017, the spotlight is on Juvenile Huntington Disease, a sub-category of HD which affects around 5-10% of those with HD. It is categorised by any patient showing symptoms under the age of 20, and has further complications and different presentations to adult HD. To help raise awareness, we will explain the symptoms, causes and treatments for both HD as a whole, and more specifically JHD, to help bring this little known disease out of the shade and into the light.

An article recently published with NPR details some shocking statistics concerning pregnancy-related hypertension, and it has been made apparent how little is known about pregnancy hypertension. The newborn is often watched and evaluated very closely, but not as much attention is focused on the Mother, especially postpartum. We also still have very little information on the causes of pregnancy related hypertension, especially conditions surrounding preeclampsia.